Laissez Le Bon Temps Rouler

Sometimes I look back and wonder why I didn't get more things crossed off of my to-do list when my calendar looked pretty clear. This past week was no exception! I thought I only had a hair appointment and some blood work. That looked like the rest of the week would be open to get all sorts of things caught up. And then, life happened. Friends stopped by, family stopped by, I added a few more appointments...and so it went.

But the weekend turned out to be the best! I was invited over to daughter #3's house for the day. We were going to play games-which we did-eat and visit. As we were talking, she starts picking my brain for ideas for invitations. She and a friend sponsor a table at a local event for raising funds for Interfaith here in Ocala. It is a tea party and each sponsor gets a table for ten that she is then responsible for decorating and filling with "generous" guests. Money is raised by the guests as well as anyone else who votes for your table and the winner receives the ownership of the "coveted" golden teapot for the next year.

Since this year's event falls on Fat Tuesday, they chose a Mardi Gras vibe for their table. Jen is in charge of invitations and table settings while her friend is doing the very large centerpiece-which, rumor has it, will be a Bourbon Street sign surrounded with flowers and draped with beads.

Jen is using black and white harlequin fabric on the chairs and for napkins and settings will be on a black and white table with gold chargers, black and white plates, gold flatware and an embellished mask at each place. Things are kept pretty hush hush until the big reveal so I hope to show you more when that happens.

In any case, who do you call? Ghostbusters...Mom! Even though I take all sorts of flack for "hoarding" my many craft supplies, this is the second time in as many weeks that my stash has been hit up. The first time was when grandson #2 needed a Nathan Hale costume! Now who could possibly rig that up? Yep. Nana to the rescue. And now, after plying me with goodies and wine, my brain is being picked for invite ideas...and supplies.

What started out as simple quickly made a left turn to over-the-top. That's just how we both roll I guess. It literally took us all of the next day but we love the finished product. And, lucky for her, her "hoarding" mom had EVERY supply she needed!

We really did start with just cutting the masks out of glitter paper. We had two different color combos and added the green glitter to round it all out. The invite was printed on different colors of velum. We mounted them on the harlequin paper and were ready to call it a day. Then we decided to add the feathers. Then we decided to back the harlequin paper with a solid. Then we decided to add the ribbon. Then we decided to deckle the bottom edge of the velum. If it hadn't gotten so close to bed time, we might still be here "deciding" but we finally knew when to stop. Lol Invites are now all delivered...let the good times roll!

I don't know when I'll be back as I have some big plans for the rest of this week so how about a quick peek into the family room while you're here?

I laugh out loud every time I decorate my mantle for St. Pat's. The small picture on the right is of my grandson when he was in Pre K and still living in Lakeland. He was representing Ireland in his school's International Festival and my daughter called for my help in making his costume. Since I already had this Irish lad statue, I decided to go that route. I made him a vest with shamrock fabric and some brown knickers. I also found the sequined bowtie. Jen added the white shirt and green striped socks but ran into a snag looking for the hat. She found this little beauty that worked perfectly but, since it was an adult size, it kept slipping down on his head. Luckily, it also had lots of green hair which, when stuffed back into the hat, worked out just perfectly!

The only snag was that this was not an event that the family was invited to attend. If we had been, you can be sure that the shirt tail would have been tucked in for the start of the parade...

...and, that he wouldn't have looked like this the rest of the day after his best friend discovered the secret tucked inside the hat! Lol He spent the better part of the day looking like a leprechaun instead of a dapper Irishman! Too funny and I laugh every time I look at this picture...and, even as he turns 14 years old today, so does he!

So sorry this post went so long but, I'm so glad I do this as my own journal and notes to self. As I was posting the corn shelf in the family room, I realized that something tall was needed in the back corner. A quick trip to the cupboard and it was fixed...and now I will remember it next year. So much more pleasing to the eye with the right proportions but also, I think because of the rule of odd numbers. Before, there were 4 things in the vignette and it just wasn't pleasing to the eye. 5 did the trick. Who knew? Stay tuned.